June 7 (Reuters) - Campbell Soup (CPB.N) beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Wednesday and maintained its annual forecasts, as the maker of Pepperidge Farm cookies benefited from multiple rounds of price increases.
Peer J M Smucker (SJM.N) had forecast a smaller-than-expected decline in annual sales on the back of higher prices and steady demand for its products.
The company maintained its annual net sales forecast for an 8.5% to 10% rise and adjusted profit expectations of $2.95 to $3.00 per share.
Campbell's third-quarter gross profit margin was 30%, compared with 31.2% a year earlier, squeezed by still-high prices of commodities and freight as well as higher marketing expenses.
The company's net sales rose 5% to $2.23 billion, in line with expectations.
Persons:
Campbell, Kraft Heinz, J, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Devika
Organizations:
Kellogg, Thomson
Locations:
Russia, Ukraine, Bengaluru